Portable decking for vehicles

ABSTRACT

A deck for dodgems (bumper cars) to form part of a travelling fair has a central portion intended to be fixed to a road trailer. Hinged to each major side of the central portion is a pair of hinged leaves each intended to form part of the deck when in their unfolded, coplanar, positions. To permit the major axis of the deck to be longer than usual, but without raising the height of the hinged leaves to an impermissible value for travel along roads, the length of at least the outer leaf of each pair is made adjustable. Each outer leaf includes a series of parallel stringers that are effectively of adjustable length, the stringers bearing three deck plates, of which two are fixed to the stringers, while the central one is movable relative to the other two between a coplanar position and a stacked position. This arrangement of the plates permits the distance between the inner and outer plates to be altered to shorten or extend the effective width of the respective leaf.  
     When all the leaves are in their shortest-width condition, and moved so that the hinged leaves extend transversely to the central portion, the height of the leaves is less than the legal limit for road travel.

[0001] This invention relates to portable decking for vehicles ingeneral, and in particular to a portable deck for dodgems for travellingfairs. Dodgems are usually important components of fairgrounds, whichcan be either fixed or mobile (travelling fairs). The usual size of adodgems' deck is 60×40 feet (c. 12×18 m), although the longer axis maybe up to 70 feet (c. 21 m). A structure of this general type isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,390.

[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,351 discloses a structure for mobile livingquarters, of which one room can be extended in area by sliding one walloutwardly, the floor for the room being in two sections, of which one isfixed and the other is movable between a stacked position and a coplanarposition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,316 discloses a building module that iscollapsible for transport, comprising at least one floor section hingedto a rigid core structure. The hinged section comprises severaltelescopic struts connected to a wall extending perpendicularly to thestruts. The lengths of the struts can be controlled to vary the area ofthe surface extending between the wall and the hinge axis.

[0003] To permit a deck for dodgems to be transported along roads, it isnecessary for the deck to be subdivided into manageable portions, eachas long as the width of the deck when in use, i.e. about 40 feet (12 m)long. It is known to subdivide the length of the deck into a centralsection seven feet (2 m) wide; two pairs of hinged leaves each c. 11feet (3.4 m) wide, and a terminal leaf c. five feet (1.6 m) wide. Thissuffers from the disadvantage that the means whereby the three leaves oneach side of the central section are moved between their coplanar workpositions and their folded-for-travel positions are complicated andtime-consuming.

[0004] The present invention aims at overcoming this disadvantage byproviding a dodgems' deck comprising a central section with flankingpairs of folding leaves, of which the width of at least the outermostleaf can be altered to facilitate handling. When in their workpositions, the terminal leaves are c. 15 feet (4.5 m) wide, but they canbe shortened to c. 11 feet (3.4 m) for travel. When so folded, the needfor a third leaf is obviated. The height of 15 feet from the bed of thetrailer on which the deck is transported would bar the trailer frombeing towed on most roads. However, reducing the height of the outerleaves to 11 feet makes the overall height of the trailer acceptable fortowing.

[0005] Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable deck thatis as claimed in the appended claims.

[0006] The present invention will now be described by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dodgems' deck of this invention, withthe right-hand part showing the structure of the support framework withthe deck plates removed;

[0008]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic end view of a dodgem trailer carrying thedeck of this invention in its folded (travel) position;

[0009]FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment ofthis invention, showing a terminal leaf of the deck in its workposition;

[0010]FIG. 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3, showing therelative positions of the three deck plates of the terminal leaf;

[0011]FIG. 5 is a view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 in its retracted(travel) position;

[0012]FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a second embodimentof this invention, similar to FIG. 3;

[0013]FIG. 7 is a section along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6, showing thethree deck plates, and

[0014]FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the deck of thesecond embodiment, in its travel position.

[0015] In the drawings, those parts that are common to several Figs.retain their original references.

[0016] In the deck 2 shown in plan in FIG. 1, a central section 4intended to function as the bed of a road trailer is about seven feet (2m) wide, and is about 40 feet (12 m) long. Hinged to its longer sidesare two inner leaves 6, each about 11 feet (3.3 m) wide. Hinged to theouter edges of the inner leaves 4 are two outer leaves 8 in accordancewith this invention. In one embodiment of this invention, the maximumwidth of each outer leaf 8 is c. 15 feet (4.58 m), but it can beretracted for travel to a length of c. 11 feet (3.3 m). For thispurpose, the outer leaf has its deck surface formed of three plates, ofwhich the inner plate 10 is fixed and is c. five feet (1.5 m) wide. Theintermediate plate 12 next to it is c. four feet wide, and it isintended to be movable to a travel position in which it overlies theouter plate 14, which is c. six feet wide. The reader will appreciatethat these dimensions add up to a deck having a major length of c. 59feet (18 m). When it is desired to increase this major dimension, it iswithin the purview of this invention to make the inner leaf 6 of thefolding pair also of the extensible construction discussed below. Insuch a case, the overall length of the deck would be 67 feet (20.5 m).However, it will be appreciated that this invention does not reside inthe particular dimensions of the deck or component leaves, but in thegeneral shape and construction.

[0017] All the deck plates are bounded by a box border 16 to act as abarrier preventing the dodgem cars from running off the deck. In theregion of the intermediate plates, the border has smaller-sectionedparts 18 that are in telescopic engagement with at least one of thecontiguous border parts 20. The parts 18 are also hollow, and cooperatewith the adjacent parts to house a hydraulic ram (not shown) having itsends secured to the respective parts 20 so that, when the ram isoperated to reduce its length, the outer plate and associated border aretranslated towards the fixed inner plate 10. The converse takes placewhen the deck is to be moved into its work position. The movement of theintermediate plate to accommodate this movement will be discussed below.

[0018] As can be seen from the right-hand part of FIG. 1, the supportframework includes an array of parallel stringers 22. The stringers maybe fitted with electroconductive strips (not shown) on which the deckplates rest, so that the plates are all in electrical contact with eachother through the strips. Each stringer for the outer leaves 8 is in twoparts in slidable engagement with each other, so that the upper surfacesof the stringers remain in the same plane, while the axial lengths ofthe stringers of the leaf are changed to accommodate the retraction andextension of the leaf. The manner in which the two lengths of stringerare secured together to permit relative movement does not form part ofthe subject-matter of this invention, and so will not be describedherein in any further detail.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the deck is intended to be mounted on a roadtrailer 24 for transport. The trailer has a chassis (not shown) on whichthe central section 4 of the deck is secured. By means which are known,the inner leaves 6 are folded about the axes of their hinges 26 untilthey are upright. Prior to this, the outer leaves 8 are moved to theircontracted positions, in which they are virtually the same width as theinner leaves. The outer leaves are secured to the inner leaves throughhinges 26. When both pairs of outer leaves are in their folded,‘travel’, position, they form between them, as is known, a space 28 forhousing all the associated dodgem cars and other equipment (not shown).

[0020]FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of this invention, in which theintermediate plates 12 are slidable relative to the outer plates 14. Theouter plates are secured to their underlying stringers, in knownfashion, but the intermediate plates are secured to the stringers onlyin the region of their contact with the inner plates 10. They aresecured by means of spring-loaded bolts (not shown) which prevent theplates from moving longitudinally over the sliders, but which permit theplates to lift off the stringers and fall back on to them. As shown inFIG. 4, the facing side faces of the plates 12 and 14 are chamfered,with the direction of slope being such that, when the opposing faces areforced into contact with each other by operation of the hydraulic rams,the leading edge of the intermediate plate rides up on to the top of theouter plate. As the retraction movement continues, the intermediateplate comes to lie in parallel with the outer plate, and continues toslide over it until the outer leaf reaches its minimum width, in whichthe overall width of the outer leaf is c. 11 feet. FIG. 5 shows theouter leaf in this position. In both FIGS. 3 and 5, parts of the plateshave been removed to show the underlying structure.

[0021] In the embodiment of FIGS. 6-8, the principal difference is thatthe intermediate and outer plates are secured together by means ofhinges 30. When the outer leaf is to be moved to its travel position,the intermediate plate 12 is folded about its hinges until it comes tolie on top of the outer plate. While the plate 12 may be pivotedmanually, because of its mass it would usually be moved by some suitabletemporary lifting device (not shown). As will be obvious, all thesemovements are reversed when the deck is to be unfolded into its workposition. The need to provide means for lifting these relatively-massiveplates under control through 180° in both directions adds to the expenseof this embodiment.

[0022] Accordingly, it will be seen that the present invention providesa dodgems' deck of simplified construction that offers significantadvantages over existing portable decks for travelling fairs.

1 A portable deck for vehicles, comprising a rectangular central stripextending across the full width of the deck, the central strip having apair of hinged leaves pivotally attached to each of its side edges, inwhich at least one of the hinged leaves is of adjustable width in thedirection transverse to the hinge axis; in which each adjustable-widthleaf carries metal deck plates in electrical contact with each other,the plates being divided into an outer plate movable with the outer partof the leaf; an inner plate fixed relatively to its inner part, and anintermediate plate movable relatively to its adjacent plates between awork position in which the three plates are coplanar, and a travelposition in which two of the plates are parallel to, and in contactwith, each other. 2 A deck as claimed in claim 1, in which the deck hasa framework including stringers extending in parallel with thelongitudinal axis of the deck, the stringers being adapted to contactthe under-surfaces of deck plates either directly or through conductivestrips which connect adjacent plates together electrically, thestringers of the or each adjustable leaf being in two parts which areslidable relatively to each other to accommodate the movement of theouter part of the leaf between its work and travel positions. 3 A deckas claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the deck has edge barriers securedto its framework, the barriers of each adjustable leaf extendingparallel to the stringers having hollow outer portions in which smallerinner portions are movable telescopically, to permit the lengths of thebarriers to be altered while maintaining their mechanical integrity. 4 Adeck as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the intermediate orouter plates are movable laterally of their stringers to permit oneplate to slide over the other when the plates are moved between theirwork and travel positions. 5 A deck as claimed in any of claims 1-3, inwhich the intermediate and outer plates are hinged together to permitone to be folded about the hinge axis to move between their work andtravel positions. 6 A deck as claimed in claim 3 or any claim dependenttherefrom, in which the smaller barrier portions of each adjustable leafare also hollow, and in which the two parallel side barriers househydraulic rams by means of which the outer part of each adjustable leafis able to be moved between its work and travel positions. 7 A portabledeck for vehicles substantially as described herein with reference to,and as shown in FIGS. 1-5, or FIGS. 1, 2, and 6-8, of the accompanyingdrawings.